Mumbai: The mercurial women’s midfielder Oinam Bembem Devi has made her mark in Indian football, but is pretty certain for now that she is not made for matrimony, as she is currently wedded to football.
The Imphal-born Bembem wants to do what no other woman footballer has done so far -- set up an academy for women in the newly built stadium in her birthplace. “No, there is no way I will get married, I don’t want to, as I want to be fully occupied with this beautiful game,” Bembem told The Free Press Journal from Imphal on Sunday.
The Durga of Indian football, as she is fondly addressed in the field, Bembem is currently confined to the four walls of her house, where she lives with her mother, brothers and her sisters-in-law and is kept busy by her nieces and nephews, her companions. “They keep me busy,” she says, just having come out of her one-hour morning workout with which she begins each day.
Natashi is the youngest of her brother's three children and this one-year-old keeps everybody on high alert at home, with all her pulling and pushing in the course of her exploration. "She is attached to me and is also my roommate,” says the Arjuna awardee, dotingly.
As for her future goal, she says, “I would not say I am giving back to the game, but what I want to do is make this game more women-oriented. There is a lot of talent among us women and I want to make the most of it,” says the winner of the Padma Shri award.
How does she feel about the postponement of the FIFA women’s under-17 tournament? Bembem says the FIFA did the right thing, as, like it said, humanity comes first and football can wait. Since her retirement in 2017, she has played a vital role as the think tank for teams. She was the manager of the Eastern Sporting Union in the 2017 Indian Women's League final rounds.
She also holds the distinction of being the first manager in the history of the Indian Women's League to have claimed the tournament title as a player. In 2018, she was designated assistant coach for the India U-17 women's team.
